Chapter 2: Revenge
Kagome soon appeared on the other side of the well and landed softly on her feet. Night had fallen and the moon's sparkling rays shone down into the deep dark cavity. "Inuyasha? Are you up there?" She called up above her, her voice echoing all around. Biting down on her lip as no reply was returned or shuffle of feet were heard, she strapped her bow over her shoulder and began to make her way up the vines draped down the wall of the well. Her insecurity of the situation grew as she climbed over the edge and found no golden eyes stared back into hers, no man dressed in a red haori run out to greet her, nothing but the still dark forest and the soothing music of crickets in the grass. "Where is he?" She whispered to herself, standing to her feet and searching the area around her. A chilly light breeze rustled the forest's many tree leaves and passed by her face, going through her ravenous hair and separating every strand. Every sound whispered his name and pricked shivers of fear all over her body. "Inuyasha where are you!"
The clattering and crashing bang of shackles trying to be removed filled the dark cave-like space where a hanyou was held prisoner. Cold water droplets running above on the ceiling stopped and dripped down onto his steaming face. The half circle entrance of the cave allowed only a small amount of the moon's light to paint the ground around his feet. In the center of the room there sat an upraised pool of boiling water, hot mist billowing to the rocky roof, heating the cold walls only to make condensation that would drop back down as beads of water and heat again. Grunts, groans and heavy growls were frequent sounds heard besides the rattling from the hanyou. Not once had he given up or stopped to take a breath since his enemy's departure. He knew that if he didn't get free, his promise to his loved one would be broken and he wouldn't permit it to happen. And so, he kept going at his impossible escape.
The sorceress Mara stepped out from the shadows of a corner, a bow and a single arrow in her hand and a frown on her face when she spotted the silver haired man who was still hard at work to get free. "It's useless Inuyasha. Don't even try to get free." She said calmly as she walked over to the pool of water. Dipping her finger in, she smirked and moved it around in small circles. 'Perfect. Everything's ready.'
Inuyasha, panting for air, loosened his arms and glared at the woman who seemed to be so acquainted with his dead brother. "How do you know Sesshomaru?" He struggled to ask through aspiration.
Mara rested the bow over her shoulder and turned to her prisoner, slowly walking towards him. "We go back a while. I asked him to do a favour for me and this is my payback for him. Though, I doubt he remembers me now." She stopped a short distance from his face, a clear evil smirk still visible across her red lips. "Have you any idea how angry you've made him Inuyasha?"
The words of reply never reached him as quickly as he had hoped and he stood there for a moment in silence, looking as though he was afraid. When it finally came to him though, he spat them out in her face as quickly as he could. "How should you know! Sesshomaru's dead and he ain't coming back!"
She sighed and tisked at him, moving her index finger side to side. "You don't listen very well do you? I am a sorceress. Bringing back the dead is what I do best." She watched with amusement as the hanyou fell still, a glistening fang hung over his lip. "But there's other things that must be done before the real ceremony can begin. I have you…but you're just for entertainment for my lord later on. You just have to sit tight and watch as I steal the soul from that girl to bring back life from the dead!" She cackled at her menial plan, trying to frighten the half-demon boy as much as possible.
"Don't you dare hurt Kagome! If you even go so far as to lay one finger on her I'll kill you! I swear it!" Inuyasha shouted in rage, pulling his body from the wall to destroy her on the spot but the shackles once again held him in place. "Don't kill her! Kill me instead!" There was no point in trying to be freed from something that he couldn't and so to surrender his own life would be better than having Kagome's lost.
Mara stopped laughing and stared into his golden eyes. "I would love to." She grinned devilishly, lifting the arrow in her hand to her face and tapping its sharp point against her chin. "…But, my lord specifically told me not to. He wants to be the one in control of your demise. I don't have-" Her voice was stopped abruptly and her head quickly turned to face the entrance of the cave. The young girl's scent that she needed for rebirth wafted her senses and she slowly returned to the hanyou, her facial expression full of pure evil. "It seems my final addition has just arrived. That girl who you refer to as Kagome, who caused my lord so much pain and sorrow, will finally taste his revenge."
Inuyasha's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open at her words. "I told you not to kill her! Leave her alone!" He screamed in panic, his shackles rattling as he watched his enemy make her way to the exit, her weapon readied in her hand. "Stop!"
The sorceress focused on the darkness outside and smirked at his pitiful attempts to stop her at what she knew needed to be done. "It's too late Inuyasha." She muttered, not turning to look at him as she did. She'd been waiting for this opportunity, to slay the woman who had done so much damage to her lord and no one would stand in her way. Stepping out from the dimly lighted cavern, the breeze blowing past her pale face, she leapt up into the forest that hid her hideout and disappeared into the darkness of the treetops.
Inuyasha stared blankly at where she once stood and found himself unable to speak. 'Kagome…' He was totally helpless to do anything, to save the woman he promised he would always protect. "Damnit." He whimpered, lowering his head to his chest. Every attempt at escaping had failed and there was nothing that left to do that he hadn't tried already. "I'm so sorry…" Tears stung at his eyes and he shut them tightly together to stop them from falling.
Kagome ran as fast as she could through the pitch-black forest, her one hand gripped tight to the strap of her quiver and the other around the bow at her side. Panic had struck her about Inuyasha's well being back at the well and she wanted to find him as quickly as possible. Her voice rung through the empty spaces between the trees around her like a bell as she called for him over and over again, still, no response coming. Haunting images of his near death at the last battle against Sesshomaru flashed across her mind and sparked tears, but she refused to let them fall. She swallowed back the lump in her throat these memories caused and focused ahead of her.
Mara stepped around a tree and into the pathway of the approaching girl far ahead. 'Here she comes. Finally I can kill her. I can kill the woman he couldn't.' She smirked and lifted her bow out in front of her view, setting the arrow in its place. It would be quick yet painful but it needed to be done. Her wants of Sesshomaru's rebirth were much more important than the need of life of another. Staring into the darkness, she caught the outline of her enemy and aimed the arrow at her heart. 'This is it.'
A glint of metal in the distance ahead grabbed her immediate attention and she stopped in her tracks. Taking an arrow from the quiver on her back, Kagome quickly set her bow, keeping it lowered to the ground. "Who are you?" She called out into the night.
"There is no need for an introduction Kagome." Mara responded back in a low, humble voice. Pulling back on the tail of the arrow, she stretched out her weapon till it was perfectly aligned with the target and grinned. "You'll be too dead to remember!" She shouted, releasing the arrow pinched between her fingers then listened to the hiss as it cut through the air towards her enemy.
Kagome gasped, sensing the danger but was unable to run as an arrow struck her chest and tore open her flesh. Her bow and arrow fell from her hands and her quiver slipped off her shoulder as she fell to her knees. She shut her eyes for a second and recalled the identical pain she had endured earlier on that day. Was this what she was feeling? Her own death, not Inuyasha's? Her eyelids opened again and she spotted a woman dressed in a kimono approaching her. "I need to find…" The salted taste of blood filled her mouth and she swallowed back the sickening hot liquid. Her hand lifted and touched the arrow protruding from her body and winced when her fingertips made contact.
Mara stepped in front of the girl and frowned, confused and angered by the slowness of her death. 'Why is it taking so long? She should have been dead by now!' She glared down at her as the girl fell to her hands and began coughing up blood. A tiny marble like jewel fell out from inside her shirt and dangled from her neck. "The Shikon no Tama!" She gasped in shock.
Lifting her hand to wipe away the blood at the side of her lips, Kagome's visions began to blur and her body became weak with pain. Her arms began to shake and she fell to the ground, no longer being able to support herself and the arrow pushed itself deeper into her chest. She cringed in pain and rolled to her side, her head falling to the ground and her eyelids slowly shutting closed.
The sorceress's fierce gaze remained on the dying woman as she watched her chest become still and the forest returned to its eerie silence. "This was not supposed to happen." She muttered in rage, having her plan's first failure. Kneeling to the ground she outstretched her hand and reached for the jewel only to be blocked by a small yet powerful barrier surrounding it. Her face scowled, very displeased and she rose to her feet, Kagome's scent still moving along with the wind that whiped around her body. "It's only a small stepping stone that I can easily walk over. This doesn't change a thing. I can still use you, dead or alive." Taking the girl's wrists into her hand she headed back to her hideout, dragging her prey behind her across the rough ground.
Inuyasha tugged at his shackles and began to try and gnaw his way through the chains. He was desperate to be released. Kagome was in major need of his help before it was too late. As he began to chew, the shadowed figure of his newest enemy appeared at the entrance to the cave and her disgusting demonic scent filled his nostrils. There was another scent that followed and his fangs instantly released the chains in his mouth, his bare feet falling flat on the ground. "…Kagome." He whispered. That was her scent all right. The beautiful aroma of Jasmine he longed to smell every hour of everyday but it's sweetness was quickly overcome by the powerful odor of her spilled blood. "You bitch! I'll fucking rip your flesh apart for killing Kagome!" He shouted in absolute fury, tears swelling in his eyes and falling down his cheeks as he struggled to get free. "How could you do that! I'll-"
"Hush now Inuyasha." Mara started, entering the cavern still hauling Kagome behind her. She walked right past the hanyou without making eye contact and dropped the girl to the ground. "She isn't dead." She muttered in anger, glaring down at the woman who did look dead but certainly was not.
He watched Kagome's body and bit his lip in fear. Dark red blood stained her white uniform shirt where an arrow extended from her body and small yet bloody scratches scarred the back of her legs where she had been so carelessly dragged. She defiantly appeared dead and if it weren't for her dominating scent of life he would have believed so. "Kagome?" He called, hoping for her to respond.
"Give it a rest Inuyasha. She may be alive but she can't hear you." She said in a very monotone voice, taking the girls body and pinning her wrists into a pair of shackles identical to the ones Inuyasha was currently wearing. Frowning as Kagome's head rolled into her chest, she glared at the jewel as it showed itself again, almost as if to tease her. "Why did she have this damned jewel with her anyway?" She growled, curling her fingers into a tight fist.
Inuyasha kept his mouth shut of the reason so to prevent more harm that may befall Kagome and he watched Mara intently. Was this it or would Kagome be put through more torture? Is there a way to escape and save them both from future pain? Questions overflowed his mind and he was rendered speechless for the time being.
Mara sighed lightly through her nose and turned from Kagome, walking to the side of the giant pool. "Don't look so disappointed Inuyasha, Sesshomaru will still come whether this girl is dead or not. He'll be unhappy but that will only add to his anger." She grinned at the thought of such a terrible demon and stared down at her reflection along the surface of the steaming water.
"Why are you so anxious for his arrival? I ain't saying that he is but if he does, he'll probably just kill you anyway." Inuyasha announced as if she'd never thought of that before and maybe to hopefully change her mind. If he couldn't escape then maybe he could scare her off with predictions following Sesshomaru's return.
She chuckled and looked out the corner of her eyes to her prisoner. "He wouldn't. I'm the one who brought him back to life and besides," Pausing for a moment, she returned her gaze to its previous location and dipped her finger into the hot water. "he promised to share the Shikon no Tama's power with me after its been removed from around that girls neck. Then we'd have total domination over this land. The two greatest demons ruling all." She laughed in spite of her sinister goal.
"Impossible!" Inuyasha spat. "I won't allow it! There is no way Sesshomaru can get back here! You two will never have power together!" His voice was loud and clear and he glared angrily at the insane minded woman.
Mara smirked and ignored him. Placing both her palms in the water, she made the shape of a ball with her hands and slowly began to pull it out. Her eyes widened in excitement as her face was mirrored off the sphere and she pulled the whole thing out, holding it just below her chin. Blowing the steam from its surface, the edges hardened into a smooth glass and she rubbed her clawed hand over its silky texture. "Too late again Inuyasha." She said, glaring at the hanyou and regaining her stature.
Inuyasha took a deep breath and stared into the ball in her hands as its once clear core thickened to a dark smoggy black. As Mara walked closer, his own image reflected off the dark orb and he turned his glance away to avoid it.
She stopped a short distance from his body and tapped her fingernails across the top. "Don't like the way you look Inuyasha? Then here, take another look." Swiping her hand down the front of the ball, a light mist replaced where his face once was and she held it with both hands again. "Look." She encouraged.
Slowly turning his head back to the spherical object, Inuyasha stared deeply into its darkness. His face no longer showed along its surface, the mist having blocked out everything. A pair of blood red eyes appeared in the distance and he squinted to try and see the beholder. As he leaned his face closer, the face containing those shiny eyes was thrust forward and instantly identified. Inuyasha jumped back as a clawed hand stretched for his neck and Sesshomaru's ungodly face leapt out of the ball. His hand slashed for his neck but disappeared before making contact. Inuyasha released his held breath and looked at Mara with a fearful gaze.
"I told you he was angry." She stated, allowing Sesshomaru's image to disappear and the ball fill with darkness again. "That was only a mere sample of what to expect. You'd better prepare for my lords return." Turning her back on him, she slowly began to approach Kagome, her soft footsteps tapping quietly and almost unnoticed on her way. "It won't be long now."